1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a twin-roll continuous casting machine and rolling equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
A continuous casting machine is a machine for producing a cast slab by transferring refined molten steel from a ladle, which is a transport container, into a tundish, pouring the molten steel into a pouring basin through a nozzle provided at the bottom of the tundish, and continuously solidifying it.
Among continuous casting machines is a twin-roll continuous casting machine using a synchronous twin-roll mold in which a mold moves together with a cast slab.
For example, Patent Document 1 describes a twin-roll continuous casting machine comprising a pair of rolls which rotate in directions opposite to each other and in which the diameters of both ends in the roll axis direction of one of the rolls are larger than the diameter of a central part in the roll axis direction of the one roll. Molten steel is supplied between the pair of rolls to solidify the molten steel on the circumferential surface of each roll. The resulting solidified shells are brought into pressure contact with each other at a minimum gap portion, where the clearance between both rolls is minimal, to produce a cast slab. The cast slab, which has solidified on the surface, but has an unsolidified molten steel remaining at the center, is then extracted from the clearance between the rolls. In this twin-roll continuous casting machine, the cast slab exiting from the minimum gap portion is wound around the circumferential surface of one of the rolls by a predetermined contact arcuate length, then separated from this roll and withdrawn.